Q: What is the difference between a journal's 'first decision' and 'final decision'?

Often, the decision taken by a journal on the manuscript in its original form, that is, before it is revised, is referred to as the "first decision." The first decision could either be a rejection without peer review or a request to revise and resubmit after peer review. An acceptance at this stage is extremely rare. Once the revised manuscript is submitted, it goes through a second round of peer review, after which it is usually either accepted or rejected. This is often referred to as the final decision. However, note that it may take more than two rounds of review for the editor to arrive at the final decision.